Happy Thanksgiving

Has nothing to do with Thanksgiving but...

Sadly, Don Herbert pka "Mr. Wizard" died over 10 years ago.  It's not a coincidence that a certain faction of this country has since been able to seize power by abandoning science altogether.  Mr. Wizard may not be the hero we deserve, but he's certainly the hero we need right now. 

in tribute of turkey day - what are some of the greatest sports indian names out there?

mlb - cleveland indians:



nfl - washington redskins:



st. johns redman (old school):

Native Americans didn't give each other blankets infected with small pox or bring their entire culture to the edge of extinction.  They also didn't make false promises in order to swindle other tribes where they couldn't be bothered to simply take by force.  They didn't murder each other's leaders while claiming they resisted arrest or imprison them indefinitely under false pretenses.  Yes, throughout human history, cultures have clashed over resources and winner takes all in the game of civilization.  But it's ironic to say the least (and yes I know this is a troll post, I'm not new here.  But somebody out there thinks like you're pretending to now) that some people have put this forth as a defense to the actions of the European settlers, whose entire perspective was based on being superior to those savage peoples.  "Hey, they were killing each other too," is hardly justification for genocide or the illegal seizing of land lawfully granted to the Natives.

I had a thought recently.  Have you seen the intro to The Man in the High Castle on amazon?  (I enjoyed the book, the show is kind of meh.) The intro is a montage of Americana warped into Nazi propaganda.  The Statue of Liberty is now a monument to Nazi ideals, that kind of thing.  As a patriot, I find it disturbing; which is the point-- not just shock value.  It's supposed to seem surreal and flat out depressing-- this bizarre alternate reality where the bad guys won, our culture has been hijacked and there's nothing we can do about it.  Anyway it occurred to me that this is the reality Native Americans live in.  Their land stolen, their culture destroyed and all but forgotten, and their own likeness plastered on sports merchandise as if they're some kind of mythical beast.  The Black Hills became the focal point of Lakota culture, and all we did was seize it and carve our leaders' heads onto it for all time.  If there's a bigger f-ck you to a people, I can't think of it.  Well I mean besides systematic genocide and assimilation of cultures.  

The worst part is it's an ongoing tragedy.  Here are some fun stats from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation:

Unemployment on the reservation hovers between 80% and 85%, and 49% of the population live below the federal poverty level. Many of the families have no electricity, telephone, running water, or sewage systems; and many use wood stoves to heat their homes, depleting limited wood resources.

The population on Pine Ridge has among the shortest life expectancies of any group in the Western Hemisphere: approximately 47 years for males and 52 years for females. The infant mortality rate is five times the United States national average, and the adolescent suicide rate is four times the United States national average. Members of the reservation suffer from a disproportionately high rate of poverty and alcoholism.  

Some people might say, "Hey, why don't they just get jobs?"  There aren't many opportunities in or around the reservation.  This is what happens when you destroy a culture, force them to live on land not suited for farming (which again is not a part of their culture in the first place) and give them zero infrastructure to start with.  It's a shame they aren't surrounded by natural resources they could just inherit once they've killed or run off the previous inhabitants.  It's too bad some foreign power isn't available to provide them with resources or manpower to change their fortunes for the better.

Again, I get it.  Troll post.  Native affairs are an interest of mine so I have to throw my two cents in when the topic comes up.  The misfortune of others should never be forgotten nor the cruelty they endured swept under the rug.  People in the United States of America (people everywhere really, but I'm making a point here) should have a life expectancy greater than 47 years old for Christ's sake.

Big picture, I love Thanksgiving and don't view it as a celebration of the negative aspects of our American history.  It's about family; it's about appreciating what you have.  I enjoy it to the fullest, and I don't feel guilty in the least.  Just don't talk out of your ass (or even pretend to, that's almost worse) about Native American history and how it compares to the settlement of America.                          

anybody remember when AMC used to play the Universal Monster Movies on Thanksgiving?

i always regarded king kong as kind of a turkey day movie too

it's got Indians too (i think they're indians)

Here in New York on local channel 9, KING KONG was always shown on Thanksgiving Day. For decades it was KONG, SON OF KONG, and MIGHTY JOE YOUNG. They did it so many years that for New Yorkers, we still associate KING KONG with Thanksgiving Day. A nice holiday tradition that was wonderful...but now gone for some reason. Same with the burning Yule log shown on channel 11 on Christmas Eve. Wonderful.

But not all of our local TV holiday traditions were nice, mind you. Local channel 11 for a few years on every Super Bowl Sunday would show, get this, BLACK SUNDAY. True.

King Kong Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Woooooo-hoooooooo!!!!!!  

happy thanksgiving to all!